Two Avocado Recipes with Honey

Open-faced toasted avocado sandwich with honey and Parmesan

Two for one recipe day!  In the first, an open-faced toasted avocado sandwich with honey and Parmesan cheese, the honey serves as a garnish.  It offers a little bit sweetness to the salty Parmesan.  It couldn't be simpler.  In the second, the avocado is the garnish for a delicious lentil salad. It takes a bit more time to make than the sandwich, but is worth it!

Open-faced Toasted Avocado Sandwich
1 slice of good quality bread
1/2 avocado, cut into slices to fit the bread
1-2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
Arrange the avocado slices on the bread.  If you have a large avocado, you might use less than one half.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese to cover the avocado and drizzle the honey all over.  Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top.  Toast in a toaster oven for about a minute (maybe two) until the cheese is nicely browned.  Voila!  Serves one.

French Lentil Salad with Rhubarb & Honey

French Lentil Salad with Rhubarb and Honey
In this recipe, I used black "beluga" lentils.  French (Puy) lentils would also be good.  Both are smaller than brown lentils and hold their shape well for a salad.  Brown lentils will still work.  If you use them, watch them carefully while boiling to be sure they don't get too mushy.  Rhubarb is now ready in the garden and I tossed a few stalks into this salad.  I hope to post some other rhubarb recipes soon.

2 cups lentils
5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 large onion, cut in 1/4 inch dice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 stalks celery, cut in 1/4 inch dice
3 medium carrots, cut in 1/4 inch coins
3 rhubarb stalks, minced
1 head of garlic (about 4 or 5 cloves), each clove thinly sliced
another pinch of salt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1-2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (if you have it)
1-2 avocados, sliced (for garnish)
salt and pepper to taste

Place the lentils in a large sauce pan, add the water and bay leaf and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once the water starts boiling, turn the heat down a bit to keep a steady simmer going.  Boil the lentils until they are just done--about 15-20 minutes, checking regularly after about 10 minutes.  The lentils should be soft yet firm--no crunchy bite, but still holding together (kind of like "al dente").

While the lentils are boiling, heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute or frying pan over medium high heat and add the onions. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.  As the onions begin to soften, add the celery, carrots and rhubarb, stirring well to coat with oil.  At this point, you might need to turn the heat to medium to keep the vegetables from burning.  When the celery, carrots, and rhubarb begin to soften and give off some juices (about 5 minutes or so), add the garlic and another sprinkling of salt.  Stir to distribute and continue cooking for another five minutes or so until the juices evaporate, the vegetables are tender (but still a bit crisp).  Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the dressing:  Combine the vinegar and honey. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify.

When the lentils are done, drain them well and place in a large bowl.  Add the cooked vegetables and toss.  Pour the dressing over all, gently tossing to distribute it well.  Taste the salad to see if it needs more salt and add if needed along with about 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper.  If serving right away, sprinkle parsley on top--but hold off if you're waiting for the lentils to cool to room temperature (or to be chilled in the fridge).

To serve, cut an avocado into thin slices.  Place one serving of the salad in a bowl and garnish with avocado slices.  Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on top.  

Can be served hot, room temperature, or chilled.  Makes about 8 servings.
 

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese & Sauerkraut Sandwiches

Although it's well past the vernal equinox here, it hasn't really felt like spring.  I mean: SNOW! Chilly days call for comfort food and that's what these recipes offer.  The tomato soup is adapted from Jennifer Steinhauer and appears on Cooking New York Times.  That recipe calls for a whopping 1/2 pound of butter and 3/4ths cup half-and-half.  I cut the recipe down a bit and used 2% milk instead.  We also added some chopped marjoram, which despite the chilly temps, is burgeoning in the garden right now.  This is a very comforting soup that is not unlike the kind you might have had from a can--only better (and likely better for you, too!).

What better to go with tomato soup than grilled cheese sandwiches?  We glammed these up a bit by adding sauerkraut that we made from cabbages last year. We followed Sandor Katz's directions for making sauerkraut with great results.  So these are basically Rubens without the "ru."  Don't know why I haven't thought to add sauerkraut to grilled cheese before: it's amazing!  

Tomato Soup
makes about 4 1-cup servings

4 tablespoons (1/8 pound) butter
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 quart tomatoes--whole or crushed (or 1 28-ounce can)
1/2 to 3/4ths cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons honey, plus a bit more to drizzle on top if you'd like
1 teaspoon salt (more or less, depending on how salty your broth is)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup milk (1%, 2% or whole--coconut milk might also be nice!)
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram (or oregano), minced, plus a bit more sprinkling on top if you'd like.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium low heat.  Add diced onions and cook, stirring often until they are very soft (and sweet).  Do not let the onions brown. When onions are very soft, sprinkle the flour over them and cook for a few minutes (2 or 3 at most)--stirring and, again, not letting the onions or the flour brown.  Crush the tomatoes if you're using whole ones. Add tomatoes, broth, honey, salt and pepper to the pot and stir well  Raise the heat and bring just to a bubble, then turn on very low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring very regularly so the bottom doesn't burn.

Remove from heat.  Stir in the minced marjoram and let cool a bit. Puree all in a blender. Return the pureed soup back in the pot and reheat if needed.  Stir in milk. 


Grilled Cheese and Sauerkraut Sandwiches
Makes 2 sandwiches

4 slices rye bread
1-2 ounces Swiss cheese, sliced about 1/4 inch thick (cheddar or other cheeses would also be good!)
1/2 cup sauerkraut, rinsed
1/2 tablespoon butter

Sauce:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon capers, diced
1 teaspoon dill pickle relish or diced dill pickle.  (You could use sweet relish instead, but if you do, skip the honey!)
1 teaspoon honey

Lightly butter two slices of bread and place in a frying pan or griddle on medium low heat.  Divide the cheese slices between the two slices of bread.  Top with the sauerkraut--about 1/4 cup for each sandwich.

Stir all of the ingredients for the sauce together, mixing well.  Spread about one teaspoon of sauce on each of the remaining slices of bread and place them sauce-side down on the sandwiches in the pan. Butter the outside of those bread slices.  Check to see if first slices are well-browned on the bottom (and the cheese is melted) and if so, flip over and cook for a few minutes more.  Slice the sandwiches in half and serve with the tomato soup.